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The judge behind the release of a court document that reveals Mayor Rob Ford was the subject of a police investigation is known for his quick wit and swift judgments in court halls.

Superior Court Justice Ian Nordheimer, who has seen a swath of high-profile cases during his more than a decade on the bench — sentencing young murderers, staying charges against allegedly corrupt police officers, and making unprecedented moves to protect the principles of open courts — is clear-cut in his pursuit of justice, say those who have appeared before him over the years.

“He is somebody who really doesn’t care whether a decision is popular or controversial as long as he believes that it’s right and it’s just,” said criminal lawyer Peter Brauti, who defended one of the ex-drug squad officers who until earlier this year faced corruption charges.

In January 2008, Nordheimer, citing “glacial” delays, stayed the charges against the officers. That decision would later be overturned.

“He’s not the kind of judge that’s going to bend to any public pressure or preconceived notions of a case,” Brauti said.

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Nordheimer, born in Toronto in 1951, was appointed to the Superior Court in 1999 after serving as an Ontario Court judge. After graduating from law school at Queen’s University, Nordheimer was a litigation lawyer, with clients ranging from the Ontario Jockey Club to the Bank of Montreal.

Defence lawyer Gerald Chan said Nordheimer is one of the most “hard-working” judges on the bench.

“He’s been critical where justified of both sides,” Chan said. “He may not agree with you, but he’s going to get every single issue and argument in the case.”

Defence lawyer Edward Sapiano agreed, saying Nordheimer’s reputation in the legal community is that he has the “guts to apply the law either way.”

While his trials have been known to be “efficient,” his decisions have not been without compassion.

When Lamar Skeete was sentenced in 2012 for the shooting death of Kenneth Mark, who earlier testified against his killer in court, Nordheimer had a warning and a message.

“I can only hope that the outcome of this case will send a very clear message and serve as a very strong deterrent to any other persons who might otherwise choose to try and intimidate any individual from pursuing their rights or from doing their duty as citizens,” he told the court then.

In front of Mark’s family and killer, Nordheimer called the 30-year-old Walmart employee who was shot in the back of the head, “someone who worked to build his community up, not tear it down.”

The veteran judge has also had much experience with large gang projects, including Project Corral, which targeted the northwest’s Five Point Generals, and recently Project Traveller, a large guns-and-gangs sweep also focused in the city’s northwest end for which he authorized police wiretaps.

Project Brazen 2, the investigation launched to probe allegations about Ford that resulted in the arrest of Alexander (Sandro) Lisi, is said by an internal police document obtained by the Star to be a spinoff to Project Traveller.

The decision to release the search warrant promptly Wednesday is one in a line of rulings Nordheimer has made championing public access to the court system.

In 2011, Nordheimer made a precedent-setting decision to dismiss the application for a publication ban on a guilty plea in the murder of Glen Davis before the jury trial had started, saying the media is crucial to informing the public about what happens in court.

Police lawyer Gary Clewley said Nordheimer’s years on the bench handling sometimes grisly cases have not deprived the judge — who often peers out from behind thick-framed glasses and a glowing MacBook laptop — of a few laughs.

“He’s extremely fair and he’s also got a really good sense of humour,” Clewley said.

Nordheimer found a Toronto police officer, Clewley’s client, not guilty of sexually assaulting two female prisoners in 2002. At the same time he criticized the Crown for letting the case proceed as it did.

“He understands that life sometimes takes a strange turn,” Clewley said. “It keeps the proceedings down here on the ground where they belong.”

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